Evil In The Brightest Form
by Asfiction
Summary: This is a remake of a story I took down earlier in the year. Antasma is sick of fighting his friend and decides to go back in time to the time before he was trapped in Dreams deep. Once he wins, he attempts to turn his friend evil, and the result don't go out as planned. Rated M for evil reasons
1. Chapter 1

**Inspiration from: Ask - Antasma from Tumblr and anonymous who asked him: "If you were able to somehow get a do-over, where you were successful with your evil plan and your destruction of the pi'illo kingdom and such, would you execute Dreambert? He is a liability, after all. Obviously, simply turning him to stone doesn't work."**

"Killing him vould be a vaste. He has so much more potential…"

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Making it evil.**

"I finally von. I finally haff the pi'illo kingdom in ruins. Now all I haff to do is deal vith you," Antasma hissed, looking down. Dreambert was lying on the grass, burnt marks and scars painted across his body. Antasma watched as he tried to get up, but ended up lying back on the ground.

"Ugh… Antasma… don't let this happen to us…" he groaned, coughing up blood on the bright green grass. The bat king looked at the castle and then turned back to the prince.

"Your kingdom is gone. It's not even your kingdom anymore! This island is mine, hear me?!" he cried in his face.

"…But, Antasma… You aren't originally like this..." Dreambert reached for his hand. Antasma looked at the hand.

' _Should I kill him?_ ' he asked himself, looking at his dying friend.

After looking, he thought, 'T _hose eyes… No, I can't kill him… But I von't let him go against me._ '

"But I haff my vays…," Antasma said, reaching into his cape. Dreambert looked him in the eye after vomiting terribly.

"What do you… mean… by such…?" he asked. Antasma took the Dark Stone and swiped it above the prince.

"You'll be asleep for a while but you'll be fine," Antasma said, putting the Dark stone back into his cape. Dreambert's eyes popped open.

"What?! Wait… no…! A-Antasma, …please…!" the small pi'illo prince cried, still trying to grab the bat's hands, "W-Why… can't we be friends again… Why are you so evil…?"

Antasma still looked at his hand and grabbed it. He thought about his questions for a minute.

"Ve'll still have our bond, Dreambert, and you'll soon figure out vhy. Now, though, you must sleep," he said, using his other hand to close the prince's eyes.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Antasma said. Dreambert's hand squeezed Antasma's and slowly slid back onto the ground. Dreambert mutters something softly before falling into a deep sleep.

After thinking about it beforehand, Antasma scooped up his old friend and carried him to his castle, which was cracked and in terrible condition. The pi'illos did do anything and everything to keep it up, and they did a very good job, despite all the dying and groaning bodies now scattered all over pi'illo island. He opened the grand doors and went inside.

"Vhat is this thing gonna do to him, anyway?" Antasma thought out loud, looking at the Dark Stone. It was glowing evilly and kept emitting a dark aura over Dreambert. It made him wonder what could possibly become of the prince because of this.

"I guess I'll find out tomorrow," Antasma answered himself. He looked at his old friend, who was nuzzling against his fur.

"Antasma…" he groaned, grabbing a tuft of it. Antasma flinched at the prince's sudden action, shrugged, and then went back to traveling to his room.

Antasma set Dreambert in his bed, making sure to release his grip on his fur. Then he left the room quietly and went to the king's old room and laid down to rest.

"Destroying a kingdom is tiring… I'll feel better next veek," he muttered, going under the covers. Then his noticed something at the corner of his eye.

It was a picture of the king and queen, with Dreambert, but there was a ripped small picture of Antasma added to the picture. Antasma felt a tear fall down his cheek. He knew somewhere, Dreambert still cared about him and their friendship, even without the corruption he just put upon him.

Could Dreambert have forgiven him if he just asked for it? All of Antasma's thoughts swirled in his mind about what he has done to his friend. He sat up and walked around the room.

"Vhere is it… I know Dreambert couldn't haff moved it… Ah, here it is." Antasma muttered as he searched in the lowest drawer of his parents' dresser. He blew the dust off of it and read the title. Then he let out a snicker.

"I remember how pissed he'd be if I vas caught reading his diary. Such great memories…" Antasma opened it and went to the last written page. There was a new written note, surprisingly.

* * *

 _Dear Diary,_

 _I can not help but wonder why Antasma wants to rule the world, or 'vorld' as he would say. I mean, I indeed still care about our friendship, but all those horrible things he said to me…_

 _Why on earth do I still care?! Why can I not get over this quarrel and watch him perish for being so dangerous?_

 _I can not believe in his sanity anymore. I knew I should have heeded Eldream's word in the first place and banished him from Pi'illo Island. A monster that would kill everyone and use me_ for _evil… I must go take a walk and clear my mind of this tormenting thought…_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Prince Dreambert._

* * *

Antasma looked closer. There, under the letter was a p.s. note, written entirely in the pi'illo's blood saying in capital letters: "He's using me." Antasma quickly shut the book and threw it back in the drawer as if it were infected.

If he took a whiff of that blood, he'd fall asleep and have a nightmare, and a very bad one full of cries of death, a form of revenge. Antasma had to make sure he didn't smell any blood while attacking the kingdom, which was hard, even for him. Then again, Dreambert wrote that in his own blood, as if he ran out of ink… or he might be even going crazy...

Why would he use his own friend as an evil minion? Even though he cast a spell on Dreambert to make him evil an hour ago, before then, he never rubbed off any nightmare energy towards the prince. Then again, Eldream always said that being near him, in general, is a problem itself…

"I'll just go to sleep… I just haff to forget about it…," Antasma said, floating back to the bed and plopping onto it.

With this, Antasma dozed off. And for the first time ever, Antasma had a good dream. A dream about him and Dreambert ruling the world as the two friends he had always wanted to be.

* * *

The next day, Antasma was planning on going to the castle's kitchen to eat breakfast, until he smelled something, no, someone cooking.

 _'Vho could possibly be cooking right now, at 3:00 in the morning?!_ ' he thought. With determination to know, he rushed to the kitchen in a hurry.

"Dreambert?" Antasma exclaimed, staring in awe.

Right there in front of the big stove was the pi'illo prince he had put to sleep yesterday. He was wearing purple shaded clothing and had an extra hood on. He didn't look like a pi'illo right now. Well, he looked evil at the fact...

"…Uh…" is all Antasma managed to say.

There was silence at first, until Dreambert suddenly asked, "Yes, Antasma?"

Antasma was startled by his sudden question, but he brushed off his surprise after realizing what he said.

"Vhy are… you up?" he asked after clearing his throat.

"My apologies, master. I couldn't sleep, so I decided to make breakfast. I hope you don't mind," Dreambert replied.

' _Master?_ '

The pi'illo then turned around to grab a pan from the rack. His eyes were glowing purple!

 _'Is this vhat the dark stone has done to him?_ ' he thought, looking. Then Dreambert suddenly spoke again, this time, looking him in the eye.

"Do you even like pancakes? I don't want to make anything you don't like, sir," he asked. Antasma flinched at the terror he saw in his friend.

"Um… Y-Yeah, I'll eat them," Antasma said.

"Okay… Do you like bacon?" Dreambert said.

"Y-Yeah. But I vould like some eggs, too!" Antasma added. No emotions were shown after that at all. Dreambert would usually scold him for being so unreasonably loud. Was he just not in the mood?

"My apologies. I'll make some now." The prince went over to the enormous fridge across the room.

Vhy is his voice so moody and dull? Since vhen did Dreambert learn how to cook?!, Antasma thought once again.

"Will you be going out anywhere today, my master?"

My master?! Again?! Vhat kind of sick joke is this?!

"Vhy are you calling me master?" Antasma asked, crossing his arms.

"You are my master, are you?" Dreambert said. Antasma couldn't help but think about it.

"I don't know… I mean..." Antasma said, looking down. The pi'illo seemed to notice his reaction.

"Is there a problem, sir?" Dreambert asked, staring him in the eye. That focused, blank stare scared him.

"No, no, no! It just sounds weird, you calling me that," Antasma said.

"My apologies. I haven't gotten enough sleep so my voice sounds extremely low." Antasma thought of something fast.

"You didn't have to make me breakfast. I really don't have any orders for you right now. You could-," Antasma started.

"What?!" Dreambert cried.

He denied me, and interrupted me! How rude!

"Dreambert-" Antasma tried to say, getting interrupted once again.

"You're gonna give me free will? That's terrible!" Dreambert exclaimed, still emotionless.

Say vhat?!

"You want to be ordered around?" Antasma asked awkwardly.

"I am your loyal servant, not your loyal friend! My purpose is only to serve you! You're the one who made me this way!" Dreambert shouted.

Antasma felt frozen. His intention was to turn Dreambert evil, just like himself, not make him into his slave. Then again, he didn't know much about the Dark Stone's power like the pi'illos did.

Antasma sighed after he said, "Okay, okay! I vas joking, anyway..."

Dreambert frowned. This was the first emotion seen from him.

"Your jokes aren't hilarious, coming from a bat king," Dreambert said.

"Vell, I'm sorry! Now get back to cooking! So rude…," Antasma said.

"Yes, master," Dreambert said, going to save all the food that was cooking. Antasma closely watched him.

I can't put free vill on him to fix this. Now vhat, stalking me?

* * *

I spoke too soon.

The second Antasma left to Somnom Woods was the second he noticed Dreambert followed close behind with a blank stare that would be focused on him most of the time. He only stopped when Antasma did and only shifted his focus off of Antasma when the bushes rustled.

"Stop." Antasma would say constantly. Dreambert would stop for a second. When Antasma was ten feet away, he'd follow once again.

I really don't need protection if that's the reason why he's following me…, the bat king thought.

The confused bat king was too busy thinking about how many things could possibly be wrong with Dreambert when the pi'illo said in a loud, startling voice, "Intruders!"

Antasma followed Dreambert's gaze. Right in the distance was a familiar pair of red and green Antasma despised.

"Hey-a! Where'd everybody go?" Mario cried. Luigi still felt scared about coming to an empty island.

"Mario! Pi'illo Castle was attacked!" Starlow cried. The brothers and the star sprite ran off to the castle. Antasma watched them go in anger.

"Dreambert - kill them," he growled. The purple pi'illo prince gave him a gloomy smile.

"With great pleasure, my master..." he mumbled, rushing after them. Antasma watched Dreambert rush to the crew.

Vell, he's evil alright…

"Dreambert, what's wrong? What-a happened to you?" Mario asked. Luigi wasn't having it.

"Run, guys!" he cried, running off to Mushrise Park.

"Luigi! Stop being a scaredy-cat!" Starlow cried. Dreambert glared at them.

"At least your cowardly brother was smart enough to sum things up, Mario," he said, driving his bare hand into Mario's chest. Mario fell to the ground, coughing constantly at his heart's pain. Dreambert flicked the blood off his hand and turned to Starlow.

"Oh, my shroom! Wait for me, Luigi!" Starlow shouted, rushing to Mushrise Park. Dreambert grabbed Mario and threw him in the water. Antasma followed the two to Mushrise Park.

"Look vhat ve have here! Vhere's your brother? Is he finally dead?" Antasma said.

"We came because Professor E Gadd said there was a time reverse on this island, and now it's in ruins! What did you do to Dreambert?! Why is he attacking us? Why is he purple?!" Starlow protested.

"I von. I rule this island now, and there's nothing you can do about it," Antasma said.

"You went back a thousand years ago and… How dare you cheat like that?!" the star sprite cried, giving Antasma a bloody look.

Antasma rolled his eyes and smiled at Dreambert, who had came up behind the two.

Antasma looked at the two and said, "Keep the green one alive."

Starlow hissed in pain and dropped to the ground like a rock after Dreambert drove his hand straight through her star and broke it. Luigi jumped as his hands were suddenly grabbed and locked in handcuffs Dreambert created with dark magic.

"What shall we do with him, master?" Dreambert asked. Antasma smiled.

"Hold him still," Antasma said. Dreambert did as he was told. Antasma swiped the dark stone over Luigi.

"No, please! I'm innocent! I had nothing to do with… Mario…" Luigi said, falling asleep.

"Vell, that handles things. Make sure Luigi wakes up," Antasma said.

"Yes, Master Antasma," Dreambert said, dragging Luigi away. Antasma left the park.

Finally, I'm by myself, Antasma thought, smiling. Then he felt something on his cape.

"Vhat the- You're still alive?!" Antasma said. Starlow hissed.

"Star Sprites don't... go down that easily!" Starlow cried. Antasma grabbed her.

"You… cheater!" she cried, biting his hand.

"Villains are supposed to cheat, little sprite. Now I have to take you back to the castle," Antasma swiped the dark stone over Starlow. Starlow started to fight back.

"I saw what you did to Luigi! I won't let it happen to me! …Never will I serve you…!" Starlow cried as she started getting sleepier by the minute. Antasma started walking towards the castle.

* * *

Starlow opened her eyes. This was Dreambert's room, the room she was allowed to sleep in on their vacation, but it looked different… It looked… Evil…

Starlow went over to the mirror and gasped. She was now black with purple eyes and purple shoes. Even her star was corrupted with evil energy. She backed away.

"It got to my body… but not my brain…" she murmured.

She looked at the door across from the mirror. After floating over to it, discovering that she doesn't jingle anymore when she moves, Starlow slowly opened the door, left the room and closed it behind her. She looked both ways before soaring down the corridor, following the loud noises coming from that way.

The entire castle was being rebuilt into a darker looking castle by hypnotized toads and other things that were simply terrifying.

"Hey, you! Come help me lift this!" a toad cried. Starlow went over to the toad that was trying to lift up a board. Starlow sarcastically lifted it up with haste. The other toads laughed at him.

"SHUDDAP!" the toad shouted rudely. Starlow silently carried it to his work spot.

"Now go away," the toad said.

Starlow frowned and said, "Ungrateful."

"Whatever, now go!" the toad shouted.

Starlow rolled her eyes and continued on. She was about to go to the dining room to see if there was nobody there until she was grabbed suddenly by her star. Being bound to the star, she couldn't help but dangle from it helplessly as her captor pulled her towards them.

"There you are. You shouldn't be running off without me," Starlow heard.

Starlow looked up to see Dreambert, staring her in the eye with an emotionless stare. She knew she heard snoring from somewhere before she left the bedroom. How did she possibly miss him out of all people?

"Sorry…" she whispered in fear.

"You call me master," Dreambert corrected.

"Sorry, master," Starlow said. Dreambert placed her next to his shoulder.

"You are not to move from this spot, understood?" Dreambert ordered.

"Yes, Master," Starlow said. Dreambert turned away from her and started his way into the dining room.

"I see you're enjoying your new minion," Antasma said, after drinking his wine. Starlow looked at him questionably.

"She is half evil, sir. It doesn't seem right," Dreambert replied, walking past him to the kitchen.

"I know that! But she isn't hesitating, so there should be no problem," Antasma said.

"Not yet," Dreambert said.

"Yes, not yet," Antasma replied. Starlow looked down.

"If you listen to me, I won't have to kill you," Dreambert said. Starlow nodded.

The two walked out the room. Finally, some more alone time. Antasma looked around. Then he thought about Dreambert's diary entry. Shivering at the thought, he wondered if his old friend still remembered him.

I just need to keep him busy and see if he vrote in it again…

Antasma got up and went out of the dining room. Dreambert quickly noticed.

"Where are you going, sir?" he asked, rushing to Antasma. Antasma flinched.

"Just going to my room," he replied, startled.

"But I have not straightened everything up in there. Please do something else while I do that," Dreambert said. Antasma stared at the pi'illo.

"Alright, fine," Antasma said after sighing deeply. Dreambert seemed to smile at his cooperation, and Antasma didn't like it.

"I will be finished within a few minutes. Please be patient," Dreambert said.

After waiting a while, Dreambert came back to the bat king, saying, "I am finished with your room, master."

Antasma jumped and turned around, then replied, "Oh, excellent. Thank you." The bat king tried to hold back in his excitement to learn more about his friend. But Dreambert seemed to notice anyway.

"Enjoy your sleep, sir," Dreambert said, bowing.

Antasma's excitement died down. He wasn't intending to go to sleep. Then again, he could if he wanted to...

The bat king entered the room. Dreambert's diary was on top of the dresser now, opened to a new page that was written on. The room was tidy, but a scent was coming from the diary. Antasma went over to it and gasped. The pi'illo's letter was this time entirely written in blood, fresh blood, reading:

I'm not sure if I could fully accept Master Antasma's doing and allow the evil of the dark stone to control me. Why did he do this to me…? I mean, Master Antasma is the only reason why I haven't just let up and killed everyone on this island, including him, and ruled the world myself…

Under his control… I don't want to kill anyone. I don't want to be a bad person. As long as the master doesn't anger me like he did when he made me like this, he won't have to die... I need more time to think about what I'm doing. So I hope you sleep well, Master Antasma. Good night.

Antasma felt himself get tired. "Vhat? He knew...? Oh God, I got to get to my bed." Antasma rushed to his bed and drifted off into a deep sleep.

Later on, Antasma felt his covers he pulled over himself fly off. His eyes popped open upon the cold air hitting his fur.

"Hello, Master Antasma," Dreambert said, dropping the blanket on the floor. Antasma jumped in fear and sat up.

"Dreambert, hello..." The pi'illo walked closer to the bed, with a blank stare.

"I am sorry about that note," Dreambert replied.

"I'm fine... Do you still remember me?" Antasma said.

Dreambert nodded and replied, "Of course I do, master... but we can't be friends. I am sorry, but I really, really have this urge to turn every living thing on this island into bloodshed, puddles of gore splashing at my feet!"

Dreambert's blank face turned into a twisted smile with his hands shaking and quiet giggles spilling from his mouth. Antasma stared at him after quickly backing up to the backboard of the bed, startled by the sudden volume Dreambert reached, then at Starlow, who was giving him a stare that said 'This is your fault.'

"…Please, do you have a request for me?" he said.

Antasma couldn't believe how sadistic Dreambert was becoming because of the corruption. Could the Dark stone really have changed his personality that much?

"Um... J-just go make sure the vorkers aren't slacking off," Antasma stuttered.

"Yes, master." The pi'illo quickly rushed out of the room as if he depended on the command.

"Vhat the heck did I do to my friend...?" Antasma said, looking down at his claws, reminding him that even though he was a monster too, he didn't come close to what villain the Dark Stone intends on turning Dreambert into.

After thinking about this some more, Antasma rummaged through his chest until he found the dark stone and pulled it out. Then he set it aside on his dresser and opened a dream portal to talk with its soul.

"Antasma… Why do you come to speak with me? I am currently spreading my darkness," the soul said.

"I vanted my friend to be evil vith me, not be my slave!" Antasma shouted.

The soul continued to explain, "Then you should've used the Dream Stone, for a bright heart. You can control your evil. Your friend cannot, therefore making him your slave so he can control it. Just the mere thought about you is helping him fight my power off. Dreambert's bright soul will soon be consumed by my power and his kindness and loyalty towards the world will be nothing but a sadistic desire to turn everyone into puddles of gore and splash in it for the rest of his life. Maybe if you thought this through, you would've had to come back to little o' me. Then again, what do I care? You gave him to me, so I'm gonna turn him into exactly how I wanted a villain to be!"

Antasma thought about what the Dark stone said. That would be the most devilish thing to do in the history of all evil in the Mario World, to just turn someone into a killing machine against their will. The Dark Stone is truly a monster in solid form.

"But the Dream Stone was taken to the Mushroom Kingdom. Want to fix this? Take Dreambert and retrieve it from his betroth to use it on him," the soul suggested.

"Kaki? She's pretty powerful and I'm sure she could help, but I thought she was on vacation. Shouldn't she eventually come back?" Antasma asked.

"She was going to until you tinkered with the timeline, you idiot. Go find her with Dreambert. Be aware, though: Dreambert only has one more day until his soul is consumed by my darkness. Don't worry, I don't see you succeeding in the future, but I'm sure villains can win against villains." the soul explained. Antasma frowned at the soul and left the dream world.

"Splash in gore for the rest of his life? Vhat a horrible thought… The last thing I need is the Dark Stone not caring about this...," Antasma said, putting the Dark Stone back into his chest.

As he was getting ready to sit down on the bed, a toad rushed into the room and shouted, "Dreambert has attacked someone!"

The bat king looked at the toad for a moment then immediately rushed downstairs to see the pi'illo literally attempting to bite the toad's head off. Antasma quickly grabbed him and pulled him off the toad.

"I don't think he would've attacked if he didn't tease him about how free he was," Antasma heard one toad say as he pulled Dreambert off of the scared toad.

"Vhat in the vorld, Dreambert!" Antasma shouted, raising his hands in the air. The pi'illo looked down.

"My apologies…," he seemed to whine.

"It's okay, the toad must be punished for rudely addressing you. Now, I need you to get some vorkers and build a plane," Antasma said.

"Those flying vehicles?" Dreambert asked.

"Yes," Antasma added.

"As you wish, master," Dreambert said as he went back to his blank stare once again and proceeded to obey Antasma's order. Antasma went to the throne room and sat on his throne, sighing.

"Hopefully I can turn him back. I'm starting to miss him…," Antasma said, pulling out the picture frame he had found on the prince's dresser.

End of chapter.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Takeover.

Three whole hours later after watching Dreambert work a bunch of toads to death, the plane was in service. It was even styled in a modern day affair, like the airports Bowser told him about.

 _Damn, do I pity that fat, psychotic koopa only doing evil to kidnap a young voman for his own wants. He's so blind in life… Antasma thought. It wouldn't be a surprise if I see him again. I hope not._

Antasma went to the brand new airport that was right next to where the blimp port was gonna be if Antasma didn't take over and petrified the pi'illo folk.

"The plane is ready, master," Dreambert said, floating up to him. Antasma jumped and turned. He had forgotten that Dreambert was evil now… WAY too evil.

"Okay. I vill board it soon. Just make sure it doesn't break down, okay?" Antasma added.

Antasma went away to think. Remember, Antasma, you have to save him before its too late…, he thought.

"It was just recently when the Dark Stone tells me about this Blackness inside of a lighter soul's heart… It decides to care now?" Antasma whispered to himself, going to retrieve the Dark stone.

After retrieving the sacred stone, he returned to the airport and boarded the plane, Dreambert and Starlow following close behind. The two sat in first class as the plane took off.

"Dreambert, I must speak with Starlow. Please do me the favor to take a rest for a bit," Antasma said.

"But, master-," Dreambert started. Antasma stopped him.

"That's an order, Dreambert," Antasma hissed. The pi'illo looked at Antasma, then handed Starlow and bowed to him before leaving.

"What do you want?" Starlow said, glaring at the bat king.

"Follow me," Antasma said, opening a dream portal. In the middle of the dream world was , the dark stone glowing dimly.

"You have to hurry… The blackness is coming to its first stage… Hurry and make Dreambert light again…" it said, barely having the strength to fly.

"The first stage?" Starlow asked.

The dark stone soul continued, "He becomes ill with a sickness that can only be healed by sunshine… Look, I didn't care before, but this has gotten serious… The blackness consumes everything, even me..." Starlow and Antasma looked at each other.

The two rushed out of the dream world and sought out Dreambert. They soon found where the pi'illo was, oddly in second class. Dreambert looked fine: sort of.

He was lying on a bed in one of the plane rooms and was watching the Mushroom Kingdom's News channel. But he looked terribly sick and to make things worst, he was lying in the dark.

"Hm, sir? It would be better to have the lights on right now…" Starlow said.

"I despise the light," Dreambert said. Starlow frowned and looked at Antasma. Antasma rolled his eyes and walked over to the plane window, opening the curtains.

"Huh? Why'd you do that, master?" Dreambert asked, looking at him.

"Ve vere told that you need a lot of sunshine to cure your sickness," Antasma explained. Dreambert looked at the window.

"But I'm not sick, master… I'm fine…," he said.

"Don't play that game vith me, Dreambert, because I'm not playing it. Take your rest and make sure you stay in this sunlight," Antasma said. The pi'illo nodded and laid back down.

"Take care of him and bring him anything he needs," Antasma said.

Starlow replied, "Yes, sir." Starlow flew over to the pi'illo and sat on his forehead, only to get her butt burned badly.

"AH! Are you lava?!" she cried.

"No…" Dreambert said, slowly falling asleep.

Starlow rolled her eyes. Antasma did the same and left to check with the pilot to see if they were close to their destination.

"We are close, sir. Should we raid the Mushroom Kingdom for the dream stone?" the pilot, who was Luigi, said.

"No. I vill not bring the attention of other evildoers onto our search. Bowser knows what the Dream Stone is. He vill do anything to get his filthy mutts on it. Ve shall search the streets in secret for it," Antasma said, leaving the room. Luigi saluted him and kept flying the plane.

* * *

Mario, who had hitched a ride on the plane, secretly ran off of the plane without anyone noticing, rushed through the streets of Mushroom town and traveled to a brand new hotel resort called Mushroom Suites, to warn Kaki about her fate.

"Kaki! I have-a terrible news!" he cried, coming into the pool area.

"Mario, please… I'm trying to adjust my tan. Pacify told me I should expect to see Antasma. It's always good to identify and settle things peacefully before you jump into action," Kaki said calmly.

"How can you be so tranquil about this? The guy that trapped you for a thousand years and now turned your people into slaves?" Mario said.

Kaki started having a little conversation with her pet Pi'illophant before saying, "I sense evil, Mario. And the dream stone is needed to fix it… Please, I beg you to go guide them to my destination."

Before Mario left, Kaki corrected, "I wasn't trapped in a Nightmare chunk, remember? I was imprisoned by sadness."

"Oh-a… Sorry…," Mario said, leaving.

"You're alive, Mario?!" Antasma cried.

"Duh-a. I don't go down easily!" Mario shouted back.

"Vhere haff I heard THAT before…" Antasma said, looking at Starlow. Starlow rolled her eyes.

"Just-a follow me. Kaki said that she will fix-a your problem," Mario replied.

The crew walked through the streets in secret, and when they got to the resort, Dreambert suddenly twitched and almost turned black doing so. Everyone stopped and looked at him.

"It's the second phase… the blackness will reach his brain by the time you reach Kaki… If you don't run…," Antasma and Starlow heard the dark stone soul say.

"We gotta hurry up! Run!" Starlow said.

"The-a Blackness?" Mario said, apparently hearing the news as well.

"We'll explain when it's fixed, now run!" Starlow said.

When they reached Kaki, the purple pi'illo seemed to have prepare herself for danger, including the entire hotel.

"He's not gonna make it! The spell is too long!"

It was now when the crew realized that Dreambert was gone. The crew panicked, for having no location of the pi'illo.

"Now he'll increase his blackness…" Antasma heard the Dark Stone say. All the darkness and evil left some the people who were entranced by Antasma and flew away. The crew panicked even more.

"I'll try to say the spell now to see if it-" Kaki cried. Suddenly, the Dream Stone was swiped from Kaki's hands.

"BWHAHAHA! I knew that'd be easy peasy! Time to get outta here!" the koopa king cried, flying in his clown car.

"You son of a gun!" Antasma shouted.

"Plan B: RUN!" Kaki said, leading everyone to safety. Bowser flew threw the sky window he came from and left to his castle as everyone left the resort.

"We have to retrieve that Dream Stone! To that castle!" Starlow cried, sparkling in her normal form now.

As the crew ran to Bowser's castle, many of Bowser's minion's were running outside the castle, ready to slow the crew down. The sun was going down and dark clouds started forming above the resort, spreading fast across the mushroom kingdom as they got closer.

Everyone rushed into the Castle and began battling for the Dream Stone. The crew skipped the battles and rushed to Bowser's throne room.

"Hey! Get outta here, punks! This my stone!" Bowser cried, scaring most of his minions out of the castle. Everyone roared in disagreement.

"You're gonna kill us all if you don't return that stone!" Kaki shouted.

"Well, I know what's going on! You don't want it in my hands because your afraid of that little pi'illo prince, aren't you? Well, one wish from this stone and he'll be mine to control!" Everyone cried in disagreement.

"Yours to control, hm? Sounds like your lost outside of your jar: and it's right front of you." Bowser jumped and looked next to him as a black cloud appeared next to him and faded to reveal the pi'illo prince.

The pi'illo prince wasn't purple anymore. He was back in his royal pi'illo clothing: only black and gold. And his eyes were the glowing color of fresh blood, with blood dripping from them.

"Maybe you should reverse that phrase. I shall be the ruler of this world! You're under my control!" he shouted, smiling.

Bowser's eye's narrowed. "No way! Not if I have anything say about it!" Dreambert let out a shriek of laughter, then stopped and gestured his hand across his lips. Somehow, bowser's lips were sealed tightly with a zipper.

"Now you don't. And that goes for all of you ugly brats," The prince said, snatching the Dream stone from Bowser's hands and crushing it with ease. His hands started surging with energy.

"Now kneel before me! All of you!" Dreambert cried. The crew backed away, only to get force onto the ground.

"This can't be happening!" Starlow said, hot tears sprinting down her cheeks.

"Vell, it's better than getting killed on the spot." Kaki said. The prince looked at Bowser.

"Now I want you to tell me whose throne is this." he said, making the lips gesture again. The zipper on Bowser's lips disappeared as the pi'illo grabbed the koopa's head.

"Mi-" Bowser tried to say as he was slammed against the marble floor of the throne room.

"Whose throne is it? I didn't quite hear you,"

"Min-" Bowser tried to say again. The koopa king was slammed again, this time breaking the floor and leaving bloody scars and bruises on his face.

"I didn't catch that…," Dreambert said, smirking.

"It's yours, okay?! You can have it!" Bowser shouted, crying.

Dreambert giggled, "It was mine from the start." Dreambert turned to everyone.

"Now that you're all here, I might as well tell you why I haven't killed you," Dreambert said, plopping himself in Bowser's throne, regardless how big it was, "This universe was already killed like that in another timeline. It'd be boring to repeat that, so I decided to finally do what this stupid turtle couldn't: Conquer the world."

No matter how confused everyone was, they didn't ask any questions.

"Ow!" Bowser cried, hissing in pain. Dreambert ignored him.

"But I haven't fully changed my mind. Don't try to oppose me and I won't repeat that timeline… Understood?" Dreambert said. Everyone nodded.

Dreambert smirked and said, "Good. Now all of you: out of my sight!", getting up and picking up Bowser. Then he tossed him towards the crew, where everyone quickly ran out of the way.

The crew, who was now dragging the broken Bowser behind them, rushed away from the mushroom kingdom and back to pi'illo island, which had been restored to its natural form and fast-forwarded back into the future.

All of the inhabitants was informed about Dreambert's new evil form, and how he now ruled the world.

"This is all your fault, Antasma! None of this would have occurred if it wasn't for you and that Dark Stone!" Eldream shouted.

Antasma looked down. "I'm sorry, and I vish I can apologize to Dreambert, too."

"You better be sorry, cuz he might own Bowser's Castle, but he still lives in Pi'illo Castle, remember?! He might come back here!" Brickle shouted.

Everyone groaned and prepared themselves for the worst.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Journey to the World of Dreams, pt. 1

 _It's been exactly four veeks since Dreambert took over, if I counted correctly. Everyone is miserably following his orders, just for his luxury. The dream I strived for came true for the very last person I'd expect to take over the vorld. This is crazy._

Antasma sat up. Then he looked around the king's room again, just to see if the now black pi'illo was hiding somewhere. Antasma sighed in relief and went over to the drawer that held the prince's diary in it. Not much but a list of plans for the next week. Then he saw something new on the last page. Something that irked his nerves and made his spine chill frozen.

" _I will kill Eldream on the 14th._ " Antasma rushed to the calendar and looked for today's date.

"Eldream…" Antasma said, staring at the unmarked day that said '14' in it. He quickly put the diary back and slowly came out of the room.

"Morning, Bats!" Dreambert cried, who was hiding behind the door Antasma opened in order to come out.

Antasma jumped in fear and spun around, yelling, "DAMN IT!" The black pi'illo snickered and leaned against the wall

"I expected you'd actually care about that old pi'illo," he laughed.

"Vhat?!" Antasma cried.

"Don't play stupid. I know you always read my personal diary. But now that you know, are you going to tell him, so he can escape? Knowing that the whole world is under my command…," the black pi'illo flew up to Antasma's ear, "Or just give up hope on the old hag? His time was over anyway… It might be a lot of fun if you just tell him. I love chasing hopeless souls until their legs fall off, literary!" Antasma looked down.

"Don't be sad, Bats. I will never kill you! You are my evil pal! I wish you'd betray me sooner so I can kill you… But until that day, I will kill all of the people that hate you…," Dreambert grabbed Antasma's ear, "I'm still somewhat your slave, right? I still desperately need your instructions… It's a secret between you and me, understood?"

Antasma nodded. The black pi'illo smiled sadistically and flew away. Antasma looked down again and went down to the courtyard.

"Antasma, what are we going to do?" Starlow cried. Mario and Luigi came up to the bat.

"Yeah, you got-a us into this! You got to get-a us out!" Mario said. Antasma shrugged.

"It's practically impossible. The Dark stone said in its last words that if you guys vant peace, you must kill him."

The three shouted, "WHAT?!" Antasma looked away from the three.

"We can't kill Dreambert!" Starlow cried, making sure no one heard her.

"His soul has gone to a place humanity can't reach," Antasma said.

"Heaven?" Starlow said.

"No. The Vorld of Dreams," the bat king replied.

"The Dream World?" Luigi asked.

"No! The Vorld of Dreams! This vorld is also known as the Pi'illo Paradise by the Pi'illos. It's the place vhere a soul can have all the things they most desire, for all eternity. This is the place all people on this island go to vhen they die, as a reward for protecting the dream and dark stones," Antasma explained. The crew fell silent for a moment.

Then Luigi asked, "We have to die to get there?"

Antasma shook his head and said, "One person got there and vasn't dead. But I don't know vho…" Antasma said.

"I did," Eldream said, coming up to the crew, "I went in there. If you want to go, I'll have to explain it to you in private." The crew looked at each other and looked at the castle. Then they nodded and followed Eldream to Bedsmith's house.

"Collide the Dark Stone and Dream Stone to make a spark?!"

"Yes. Dreams and Nightmares cancel each other out, therefore, creating the portal to where dead souls are. But I almost died going through it, so you might want some of those new protective clothes to get in. And here," Eldream explained, handing the crew a bottle, "This will allow you to bring Dreambert out of there. Please, save your friend from your mistake." Antasma nodded.

"But both the dream and dark stone are gone!" Starlow said.

"Their souls aren't. Plus, nightmare chunks still lie around here somewhere. You can craft them both. Just please, save him," Edlream begged. The crew saluted him and left. Eldream sighed and then was grabbed suddenly.

"What a show you put on there, gramps! But do you know what else is a show?"

* * *

Antasma felt his throat clog up, the same thing that happens when someone dies. He knew that that was the last time they were ever going to see Eldream again.

"Hey, Bats!" the four heard Dreambert cry.

Mario and his friends ran away, while Antasma was left all alone to face the terror of the new king.

"Seems like you're in a hurry, going _away_ from the castle! Ya know I hate being left alone, bats. So give me a good reason why I shouldn't drive this butterfly knife into that puny heart of yours?" Dreambert said, frowning.

Antasma looked around for something to say and replied, "Um… I vas going to get something special…"

"Like what?! You are evil! You don't buy presents! Nor mourn over useless creature's graves, like that old pi'illo that wants you to 'save me'!" Dreambert shouted. Antasma backed away.

"Look me in the eye!" Dreambert cried. Antasma looked the pi'illo in his furious bloody eyes.

"Step foot past that wall, not even near it! I triple dog dare you!" the black pi'illo shouted.

"Y-yes sir...! Damn it!" Antasma said on accident. What he meant to say was 'I von't'.

"Do you even know what to say anymore?! Guards, take him to the dungeon!" Dreambert shouted.

"VHAT?!" Antasma cried. Antasma was grabbed by the Mega pi'illos and dragged back into the castle.

* * *

Mario and the crew was already past the wall, and was walking in the shady Mushrise Park.

Everyone there wasn't happy, at all. Not even a baby would smile in this environment. Many of the visitors were limping, due to the torture the new king inflicted on them. The crew couldn't blame them. They were beat, too.

"Antasma is the only one that could possibly harness dark energy like that to create a Dark Stone…" Starlow said.

"Wait, we could ask Bowser. But how are we going to get through the guards at the blimport?" Mario shrugged.

Then Luigi blurted out, "Use a-me as a sacrifice?"

Mario frowned at the idea. "Hell-a no! You're my brother-a! If I do that, I'll have no family!"

"Yeah, but the people-a you save don't like your family, apparently. Like Starlow." Starlow looked at Luigi. Then she thought of all the mean things she said to and about him.

"Sorry…"

"Are you-a kidding me?! My brother might be scared of a lot of things, but he's just as strong as me! We're equal! He's been through a lot in his life, even getting kidnapped as a baby, stuck inside a sack? We were both saved by yoshis, but he probably couldn't breathe in there! I was cared for as we went to save him, ya know!" Mario cried.

"What are you trying to say?" Starlow said.

"I'm incomplete without Luigi. He's my bro. Why would I use my own brother as a sacrifice for the people and the princess I'm sick and tired of saving? Why, Luigi? I love you, and that's all you need to know in order to live."

"Thank you, bro… But still, the best way through this situation is a sacrifice. That's all I could think of...," Luigi replied.

The three turned around and looked at a Toad. "Hey! Hey, Mario!"

* * *

"Yay!" The three watched as toad rushed to the guards and passed them, causing them to run after him. The crew snuck inside after grabbing the nearby nightmare chucks and dream stone shards. The blimp was almost empty when it started to take off until tons of people snuck into it with wads of money to pay for the ride.

"Dang, we forgot our fare!" Mario whispered. Luigi then whipped out a wad of money.

"I forgot Luigi was filthy rich." Starlow said. Luigi frowned at her.

Then Fido, the man that collects fares from intruders, came over with his hand held out, saying, "$100, please." Luigi gave him the money in a formal way.

"$1,000? More than what I asked? Do you want to sit in first class, sir?" Fido asked.

"No, we're fine. I'm just paying it forward so you won't tell on us," Luigi said.

"My mouth is shut. Enjoy your flight," Fido said, closing the large storage cabinet.

The crew sat in the storage cabinet to think about whether or not Bowser has the power in him. As they talked, the blimp stopped at many other ports and fuel stations all around. Dreambert might be a terrible king of the world, but he actually improved their society a bit. He even caused the creation of the home TV, forcing his butler to entertain him. But still, he has to go down at some time.

It was soon sun set when the crew's stop was international eight cargo pick-ups away. During their wait, they heard a startling and familiar voice cry, "Hey! Has anyone seen Mario?" Mario shivered in fear.

"He's here? Now? I'm tired…" Starlow said, yawning.

"No, sir," Fido said.

"I looked everywhere! Where is he? I just want to give him something!" Dreambert said.

"Well, if I see him, I'll give it to him," Fido replied.

"Fine. I have no time to search for that stupid red plumber and his weak little brother everyone hates. Buh-Bye!" Dreambert said. After he said that, a dream portal opened and then closed.

The fare collector sighed in relief when he left and said, "Thank god. I thought I was a goner." Fido gave Mario the letter and closed the cabinets back.

Mario opened it and read it aloud quietly, "I will find you, and you know I will. Even if you believe bowser could ever help you." The crew's mouth hung wide open.

"We can't escape him, can we?" Luigi asked.

"Screw the fact that he knows everything! We still have to go to bowser anyway," Mario said.

"I bet he misses us," Mario said. Starlow nodded in agreement.

"I scared to go to sleep…" Luigi said, shaking. Mario patted Luigi's head.

"Don't worry. I'll keep watch, okay?" Mario replied. The two nodded and went to sleep.

* * *

"WAKE UP!" a loud voice shouted.

Mario banged his head on the ceiling of the cabinet. Luigi fell off the little bed that was inside the cabinet. Starlow had no idea what was going on.

The crew got themselves together and focused themselves to identify the source of that rude shout.

"Hello, Red, Green and Yellow!" The crew froze in the presence of the new king, who had opened the cabinet.

"What? Are you scared of me? HA! You guys are funny, really!" Dreambert said, going into the large storage cabinet with them. The crew backed away from him.

"It's warm in here! You guys must have been snoring a lot, have you?"

"Y-Yes…," Luigi stuttered. The black pi'illo snickered and came closer to Mario.

Dreambert started, "Ya know, I like the way you just respawn constantly after you die, Mario. And remember when I ate you alive? Don't you think I could eat you again? You shouldn't be scared. You respawn."

Mario put his back to the wall and gulped hard.

"I'll take that as a yes!" Dreambert said, lurching towards the red plumber. It was too late for Mario to make a run for it. The other two covered their eyes and ears. Blood splashed everywhere, including bones with a little bit of meat on them.

"Mmm! Just as good as last time! Delicious!" Dreambert said. The remains of Mario then sparkled, respawning him back into the world.

"What the hell?!" Mario cried.

Dreambert giggled, "I just might stick with you guys. I enjoyed your leader so much!"

"Um…," Starlow said.

"Oh, thank you so much for agreeing with me!" Dreambert cried.

"What-," Luigi said. The black pi'illo sat in luigi's lap and yawned.

"I'm going to sleep," Dreambert said wiping his eyes.

"But-," Mario tried to say.

"Good Night..." Dreambert said, almost immediately falling asleep. The crew looked at each other and shrugged. Then they cautiously went to back to sleep for the remaining hours of the ride.


End file.
